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MOSCOW (Reuters) – Croatia once again showed its magnificent resistance to beat England 2-1 on Wednesday, as Mario Mandzukic's goal propelled him into his first Cup final of the World and a possible revenge against France.
For the third knockout play, the Croatians were following Kieran Trippier's free kick in the 5th minute, but they were fighting again to force extra time.
Ivan Perisic equalized after 68 minutes and Russia on penalties, Croatia rolled up their sleeves for another extra period.
This time, they did not need shooting as they seemed to be gaining energy while they should have been on their knees. with a low shot taken well in the 109th minute
"This tournament will be won by a team of character, with a 1-0 defeat in three games in a row," said the coach of the Croatia Zlatko Dalic
. "For Croatian football and the country is history written – I can not think of a smaller country to reach the final."
Croatia becomes the 13th team to play the final and the first new finalists since Spain in 2010.
Since their Croatia failed to break through the group stage, and all failed teams have been compared with the heroes of France.
They did better and take revenge for the defeat of 20 years against the French Sunday at the Luzhniki stadium. "Maybe this game has historical significance perhaps, the dear Lord gives us the chance to settle a score."
They will have this chance partly because of their physical condition, their attitude and their quality of finish. Taking advantage of a totally dominant first half, England, who was hoping for a first final since their only trophy in 1966, had a good start when Trippier snapped a superb free kick in the top corner.
CONSTANT THORN
But Harry Kane faintly fired on Danijel Subasic and forced the rebound against a post, Raheem Sterling failed to turn the promise into substance and Jesse Lingard ran a golden chance
Croatia was desperate poor, a shadow of the team that split Argentina in the group stage, but began to gain a foothold in the match while the match exceeded the hour and the influence of Luka Modric
England paid the price for these failures when Perisic showed great determination to stand in front of Kyle Walker to meet a Sime Vrsaljko and although his boot was high and he cast an anxious look at the referee, Walker was bending down and
Perisic should have added another when given a good shot chances, but he lost the ball against a post while England's defense was starting to to deform [1 9659006]. He was playing with precision and determination as England lost momentum and composure, although Kane missed an opportunity to win in stoppage time by turning away from a free kick. .
England is well reunited with Marcus Rashford A certain pace and Croatia were grateful for the permission of Vrsaljko from a John Stones head.
But it's Croatia that hit the killer shot when Perisic won a header on the edge of the box, England lost The ball dropped for Mandzukic, who beat Jordan Pickford
"It's a miracle – only big teams can be as brave as us and fight against teams like England," Mandzukic said.
England will face Belgium Saturday after having exceeded the expectations of many people. which could prove to be the best chance in a generation to end what is now 52 years of injury.
"Nobody expected us to be in the semi-finals but once we were here we really thought we could reach the final." Coach Gareth Southgate said.7
"When you have spells, you have to make them count.We probably needed this second goal.We should not forget the opportunity we had. "
(Reportage by Mitch Phillips, edited by Ed Osmond)
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